No. 5 Grand Valley State wins quad meet, sets new school record in 4x400

ALLENDALE, Mich. -- Fifth-ranked Grand Valley State had an impressive performance at the GVSU Quad Meet on Saturday, defeating the trio of Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Hillsdale by scoring 164.50 team points.

The Lakers hit 21 NCAA Division II qualifying marks and set a school record in the 4x400 meter relay.

The group of Nathaniel Hammersmith, Chris Teitsma, Mohamed Mohamed and Logan Hoffman set a new school record in the final event of the day, crossing the line in second in the 4x400 meter relay with a time of 3:14.80, besting the previous record of 3:15.15. The time was also good enough for an NCAA Division II provisional mark.

Hoffman and Teitsma also hit provisional qualifying marks in the 400 meter dash, with Hoffman finishing second in a time of 48.77 seconds and Teitsma in third at 48.88 seconds to pick up a combined 13 points for the Laker team score.

In the 800 meter run, Jeremy Wilk (1:52.09) and Ethan Barnes (1:53.51) also had provisional qualifying marks, finishing second and sixth, respectively, to pick up 11 points.

In the mile run, Larry Julson finished fourth with a time of 4:10.32, an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying mark. In the 3,000 meter run, Spencer Pageau (8:28.41) finished second and Jake Isaacson (8:29.64) was third for 13 points for the team.

In the 60 meter hurdles, Sean Wells had yet another solid performance, hitting a provisional qualifying mark in the 60 meter hurdles with a winning time of 8.23 seconds.

The Lakers placed a trio of student-athletes in the top five of the pole vault, led by Kevin Leland's second-place finish after a provisional qualifying mark of 4.90 meters (16'0.75"), while Jake Elbers and Raphael Gelo both notched provisional qualifying marks of 4.75 meters (15'7") as the vaulters picked up 12 points for the Lakers.

Trent Chappell won the high jump event with a provisional qualifying mark of 2.12 meters (6'11.5"), while Patrick Livengood finished third after clearing a height of 2.00 meters (6'6.75") to garner 15 team points in the standings.

Logan Howe won the long jump competition with a mark of 7.15 meters (23'5.5"), a provisional qualifying mark. Nathan Fraeyman finished third with a leap of 6.69 meters (21'11.5").

In the triple jump, Tendo Lukwago finished second with a provisional qualifying mark of 14.39 meters (47'2.5") and Steve Reives placed fifth with a distance of 13.86 meters (45'5.75").

Matt Armstrong again won the shot put competition, pacing the field with a toss of 17.32 meters (56'10"), a provisional qualifying mark. Darien Thornton finished third with a throw of 16.61 meters (54'6"). Donny Stiffler also had a provisional qualifying mark, finishing fourth after a toss of 16.12 meters (52'10.75").

In the weight throw, Thornton won the event with a toss of 18.42 meters (60'5.25"), while Blake Donson finished just behind him in second with a toss of 18.10 meters (59'4.75") to give the Lakers a sweep of 16 points in the event. Stiffler (18.00m/59'0.75") and Lee VanKampen (17.11m/56'1.75") also notched provisional qualifying marks, finishing third and fifth, respectively.

The final team scores shook out with Grand Valley State winning the meet with a total of 164.5 points. Eastern Michigan finished second with 154.5, while Central Michigan (124) and Hillsdale (61) rounded out the meet.